Re: Oil-Independent Renewable Energy Sources
- From: T. Keating <tkusenet@xxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Thu, 27 Nov 2008 11:16:42 -0500
On Wed, 26 Nov 2008 22:15:50 -0800 (PST), Positron
<positron@xxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
I've heard many people tell me there is no reason to worry about the
future as enough research is being done into renewable energy to make
the human population oil-independent in a few decades time. However,
upon further investigation, I usually found that, although the method
of harvesting renewable energy will no doubt help reduce energy
consumption, oil is still an integral part of the manufacturing
process. Sometimes the raw material for the apparatus comes from crude
oil. We still don't have solar panel or wind turbine factories
completely powered by solar panels or wind turbines. For example, for
a wind turbine, the metal has to be mined, extracted in a blast
furnace and transported to the factory, all very fossil fuel intensive
processes. True, some of these processes can be altered to run on
electricity instead... but will it then still produce more electricity
than is consumed?
Because renewables are powered by renewable energy sources..
99% of the material expenditure remains intact..
Ready for recycling.. into the next solar panel or wind turbine.
That gives them EROEI in the range of 200 or 300 to 1..
Verses ~5(or less) to 1 EROEI for fossil fuel, and nuclear fission
sources.
Electricity, being a higher form of energy(verses chemical/thermal),
can be used to make replacements for fossil fuel. H2 can replace CH4
in many applications.. Electric power, Steel, Cement, Fertilizer
production, etc H2 can be used to make various hydrocarbon
compounds, (refineries consume ~10% of our NG production, which is
cracked for it's H2 content). .
In fact, I doubt whether we have any alternative energy source that is
fossil fuel independent. Can a nuclear power plant continue running
using electricity only? Can a nuclear power plant be built using
electricity only?
Eventually(or perish), we will transition to biomass for our sources
of carbon.
My question is this: Does anyone know of some developments in
renewable or alternative energy that can operate in total independence
from oil?
No.. But we can make carbon based compounds from other sources..
We will use it sparingly.. Lubricants, Carbon fibre, activated
carbon filters, etc.
.
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